Governor Polis visits Gilpin for announcement
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Governor Jared Polis with members of the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing at the September 28, 2026, press conference in Gilpin County announcing the recipients of the Colorado Rural Health Transformation Program grants.
Former state senator Jeanne Nicholson and Ruth Anderson at the press conference at the Gilpin Clinica clinic. Both were involved in bringing a primary care clinic back to Gilpin in 2022.
Crowd assembled at the Gilpin Clinica offices for the press conference announcing the recipients of the Colorado Rural Health Transformation Program grants. The grants totaled $850 million over five years for 91 recipients.
GILPIN COUNTY — The Clinica Family Health Clinic in Gilpin County was the site of a press conference on September 28 announcing the recipients of grants from the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), a federal program to support health care providers in rural communities.
Clinica will receive $498,745 per year for the next five years to expand access, improve outcomes, and modernize technology-enabled services.
The RHTP grants are intended to help rural communities cope with the challenges of providing quality healthcare to underserved areas with sparse populations and low insurance rates.
Colorado will receive about $850 million dollars for the program over the next five years and announced $170 million in grants to 91 providers, including Clinica.
Governor Jared Polis, speaking at the press conference held outside the Clinica office, emphasized these grants were not intended to backfill operational budgets. They will expand and transform services in rural areas using modern technologies like national telehealth platforms or virtual urgent care.
The CEO of Clinica, Simon Smith, referred back to four years earlier, when Gilpin County was considered a healthcare desert without primary care access. He asked for a round of applause for the local staff at the clinic who have been providing healthcare to the community with compassion, dedication, and quality.
This funding is more pertinent than ever, Smith said, as our health care system braces for the challenges ahead with the impending cuts to Medicaid from federal legislation and Colorado's own budget constraints.
The additional funding gives Clinica an opportunity to consider expanding the clinic to include a pharmacy and possibly dental and vision care.
The Gilpin clinic, located at 972 Golden Gate Canyon Road, Ste. 300, Black Hawk, is open on Tuesday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with a daily lunch closure from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. The same staff runs the Nederland clinic which is open on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. To contact the clinic, call 303-650-4460 or visit their website at clinica.org.
